I Became an Officer in Another World in Just 5 Minutes - Chapter 195

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 195

“The Crown Prince, you say…?”

General Wolf asked back with a bewildered expression at this unexpected suggestion.

Baren began to calmly explain to him.

“The enemy is currently entering the fortress, but the Crown Prince is surely still outside the fortress.”

Even when conquered territory expands, command posts are rarely moved.

Not only are there installed equipment, but they could be pushed back at any time.

“But the enemy must have left troops behind too. If they buy time with those, the forces inside the fortress will come out again to join them.”

“Yes, a prolonged battle would naturally be disadvantageous. No, we absolutely couldn’t win.”

The troop difference is twofold.

In a frontal battle, no matter how you calculate it, the win rate is 0 percent.

But in chess, do you have to kill all the pawns to win?

No.

“Before enemy reinforcements arrive, we’ll break through at one point and capture the Crown Prince.”

“Hmm.”

After hearing Baren’s entire plan, General Wolf stroked his chin, showing a rather reluctant reaction.

“Isn’t the probability too low?”

“The very fact that such a probability exists makes it worth attempting, I believe.”

If we just stay put like this, we’ll lose everything with 100 percent certainty.

So Baren’s judgment was to gather all our strength and make one last desperate attempt.

‘We’d have to break through even the Imperial Knights, so the success rate is at most 5 percent.’

Honestly, it’s insane.

But what choice do we have.

An insane situation has occurred.

To resolve this, we need to create an equally insane situation for the enemy.

“Hmm, is there no way to retreat?”

“They’ll definitely pursue us to the very end.”

One might say we should at least save the commander’s life.

But if we’ve lost 30,000 troops, returning alive would be meaningless.

“It’s either total annihilation or miraculous survival.”

The possibility of total annihilation seems overwhelmingly higher, but we have no choice but to close our eyes and ignore that.

“We’ll go with Lieutenant Colonel Baren’s opinion. Move 10,000 troops to the North Gate without the enemy noticing.”

Since there’s no other path we can choose.

General Wolf made his decision.

“Additionally, I’ll personally strike at the Crown Prince. The tactical command inside the fortress… Lieutenant Colonel Baren will handle it. Buy time somehow.”

“Yes!”

A situation where this would likely be the final operation.

When it comes to moments like this, the rank on one’s shoulders has little meaning, and it becomes merit-based.

After all, humans are inconsistent, selfish creatures.

“And thinking about the operation, isn’t the enemy’s current position here?”

General Wolf pointed to the location on the map where the Crown Prince was estimated to be.

“That’s correct.”

“Then how about not just going through the North Gate, but having cavalry units go through the Western Gate a beat later to strike from behind?”

General Wolf’s suggestion.

Baren pondered for a moment, then nodded.

“That’s a good idea. However, the reason I only mentioned the North Gate is that we don’t have much spare manpower.”

Splitting ambiguous numbers of troops would be neither here nor there.

“Shouldn’t we overcome that by somehow forming elite units?”

“If it’s possible, going through the Western Gate would be good too. 10,000 troops through the North Gate and 5,000 through the Western Gate would be appropriate.”

“Then only 10,000 would remain in the fortress – can we hold out?”

“To increase our chances, at least 15,000 should go out. As for holding out, I’ll manage somehow.”

“Understood.”

General Wolf answered heavily and turned his head.

“General Gering.”

“Yes…!”

Though it wasn’t his fault, General Gering, who had been quiet as a mouse since losing the city wall, responded to General Wolf’s call.

“You’ll command the cavalry unit going through the Western Gate to strike the Crown Prince. Cover your mistake with merit.”

“Thank you. I will definitely succeed!”

Though it was a newly given opportunity, it was an extremely important mission.

Rather than rejoicing, General Gering bowed his head with a sense of duty that he absolutely must succeed.

“Since the enemy is attacking even at this moment, we move quickly. I hope we can meet again alive.”

Since this wasn’t a situation where they could drag things out as usual.

The meeting ended immediately, and 10,000 troops assembled at the North Gate.

“The city wall has fallen, and our homeland is destroyed!”

As the tightly closed North Gate began to open.

General Wolf drew his sword and shouted.

“I’ll lead the charge risking my life, so follow me! One chance will turn everything around!!!”

“Uaaahhhhh!!!!!”

“If we just catch the Crown Prince, it’s over!!!”

“Absolutely unforgivable!”

The Raikhan Empire’s army had been enraged after helplessly losing comrades in the first battle.

Similarly, the Aditus soldiers had just lost countless comrades.

The emotion of grief clouds rational judgment, and what remains at the end is only animal instinct.

“Charge! Don’t let this last chance slip away in vain!”

The words of the white-haired General Wolf, recognizable from afar.

Without hesitation, they burst through the gate and began running toward where the Crown Prince was.

* * *

“The secondary defense line looks more solid than expected.”

Colonel Schultz, who had been fighting desperately and was catching his breath, stroked his chin as he looked at the enemy’s secondary defense line.

“Indeed. Usually, if you have city walls of this caliber, you wouldn’t pay attention to something like a secondary defense line.”

Naturally, such defense lines aren’t built overnight.

Countless calculations and resource investments.

Though not as much as the city walls, it’s quite a headache-inducing task.

“Though they’re enemies, I’d like to praise them for this part.”

The word “praise” rarely heard from Colonel Schultz’s mouth.

Whoever it was, you could say they’ve definitely made their mark in life.

“Is that so?”

“All the more reason we can’t let the command escape. Someone this meticulous must be killed to prevent future troubles.”

“Ah… yes.”

Though it seems cruel, there’s nothing wrong with what he said.

“Once the cannons arrive, we’ll start the attack immediately.”

“Let’s do that.”

Colonel Schultz seemed quite relaxed.

Well, that’s understandable.

‘It’s practically over.’

No matter how well you position a secondary defense line, what good does it do?

In the end, it’s just earnestly built barricades, and a few volleys of magic artillery will finish it.

‘If it were me, I’d have run out immediately, shouted “Long live the Raikhan Empire” three times, and begged for my life.’

One might ask if I have no patriotism.

What is the reason for a nation’s existence? It’s a safe haven.

We pay taxes and serve in the military to guarantee that, but this kind of situation comes up?

‘This is the state breaking the contract first.’

No one criticizes you for changing jobs when your company goes bankrupt, right?

“But it seemed like there were gaps in the city wall. Was that something you knew about?”

While I was looking pitifully at the Aditz army still foolishly defending the barricade.

A question that made my body freeze came from Colonel Schultz’s mouth.

“Gaps… you say? Were there such things?”

Playing dumb for now.

I answered while even adding the act of tilting my head as if hearing it for the first time.

“There were cracks in the city wall. My personal guess is that they weren’t receiving protection from the circuit.”

Colonel Schultz didn’t just come close to the correct answer, he pinpointed it exactly.

At this level, shouldn’t I consider that this gentleman can also see mana?

“I see. Now that I think about it, that does seem to make sense.”

I nodded and agreed with Colonel Schultz’s words.

“But there probably weren’t many such spots in multiple places. You identified it very well.”

“I was lucky. That’s why I said it before coming here too, didn’t I? Let’s test the city wall.”

The most solid alibi I currently have.

Since Colonel Schultz also heard it together at the scene, any other suspicions would be difficult.

“Come to think of it, that’s true. If we had followed the Lieutenant’s words from the beginning, we wouldn’t have needed to pay such a heavy price.”

“Still, isn’t it fortunate that things worked out well, even if belatedly?”

I inwardly sighed in relief at Colonel Schultz’s appearance of not thinking much about it.

‘Fortunately, this gentleman just ends it with “as long as things worked out well.”‘

However, it doesn’t end with Colonel Schultz.

‘Surely everyone from the Crown Prince to the Emperor will definitely ask.’

The thought of having conversations while wearing a thick mask gives me a headache.

“They’re coming. Let’s begin.”

“Yes sir!”

I finished the slightly tense conversation with Colonel Schultz and returned to my position.

And not long after, the bombardment began.

Since the barricade wasn’t very high, all the magic shells fired from the cannons easily jumped over the secondary defense line and poured down on the enemy’s heads.

KWAAAAANG!!! KWAAAAANG!!!

‘It’s really damn loud.’

The ear-piercing explosion sounds.

I wonder if they couldn’t make it a bit quieter.

“Gentlemen! This is truly the end now!”

When the barricade had been considerably damaged after several bombardments.

Colonel Schultz raised his sword once more.

“We annihilate the enemy and end this battle! Charge!!!”

As Colonel Schultz raised his sword toward the front, tens of thousands of soldiers rushed forward without hesitation.

The 1st Battalion and I also charged toward the secondary defense line at high speed.

“Damn it! Block them! Block them even if you die!!!”

“These damn bugs! There are just so fucking many of them!!!”

Swoosh!

Was it the difference in numbers?

After hearing the sound of blood splattering a few times, the barricade forming the secondary defense line began to collapse.

‘Why are these bastards trying so hard to defend?’

It had been 30 minutes since the battle started.

Honestly, I thought the secondary defense line would be completely neutralized by now.

But they were holding on even while clinging to the tattered barricade.

Of course, that doesn’t change the outcome of the battle.

Not only do we have more personnel, but our exchange ratio is also superior based on this.

‘I just feel a bit sorry for them.’

Enemy soldiers swinging their swords to live even one second longer in the face of death.

What are they doing this for?

“Wait a minute.”

While fighting the enemy, I looked around once and something seemed a bit strange.

‘These guys, why are their numbers so few?’

No matter how many we killed at the city wall, there should be at least 20,000 or more.

But no matter how many times I rubbed my eyes and looked, the enemy’s numbers were much fewer than 20,000.

“Forming a third line of defense… that can’t be it.”

Then where exactly did half the troops go?

Considering the characteristics of siege warfare being either attack or defense, it didn’t take even 10 seconds to figure out.

“Shit.”

The missing troops.

There’s only one thing they would target.

“Colonel Schultz!!!”

As soon as my thoughts reached certainty, I ran to Colonel Schultz who was dominating at the secondary defense line.

“What’s the matter?”

“At least 10,000 or more troops will be targeting His Highness the Crown Prince! We need to withdraw immediately!”

“What…? The enemy is here, so what do you mean?”

Colonel Schultz couldn’t understand.

Feeling frustrated by his attitude, I spoke quickly.

“Look at the enemy. There should be at least 20,000, but isn’t the number obviously small at a glance?”

“Hmm.”

At my words, Colonel Schultz looked around once, and his expression became serious.

“The Lieutenant is right. At this level, it’s roughly about 10,000.”

“How many are currently waiting in the rear?”

“There should be about 13,000.”

More than I expected, but we shouldn’t let our guard down.

“The enemy will definitely charge toward His Highness the Crown Prince. So wouldn’t it be better to put a bit more strength in the rear?”

“That’s right.”

Colonel Schultz nodded once, looked around, then opened his mouth.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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